The Celtics squandered a seven-point lead in the final six minutes of regulation, falling 118-112 to the Warriors in an intense matchup at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Boston opened the game red-hot with a 14-3 lead before the Warriors defense locked in for the remainder of the first half. Golden State swarmed Jayson Tatum and turned the game into a slugfest, limiting the Celtics to just 40 first half points, a season-low for the hosts. Meanwhile, the Warriors found some rhythm from 3-point range and built a double-digit lead in front of a stunned TD Garden crowd at intermission.
Tatum and the Celtics fought back in the third quarter though, outscoring them by a 41-31 margin in the period behind Tatum (17 points in frame) and a renewed effort on the offensive glass (seven offensive rebounds). Neemias Queta (12 points, 8 rebounds) provided a huge energy spark during the rally while White’s offense (27 points) helped make up for the absence of Jaylen Brown (sore hip).
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Boston seemed to regain control midway through the fourth quarter by pushing up their lead to seven points thanks to 20 second chance points but Curry and the Warriors fought back with a 16-4 run to retake the lead entering crunch time. The Warriors then closed the door with a couple big outbacks by Kevon Looney and a clutch Buddy Hield 3 in the final minute to help put the game away.
Tatum finished with a game-high 32 points in the loss while Derrick White added 26 points. Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 27 points and 9 assists as the visitors improved to 7-1 on the year. Boston fell to 6-2 with the loss and had their three-game winning streak snapped.
The Celtics will next host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night at TD Garden.
Here are four Celtics takeaways from Wednesday’s game:
Celtics fans let Steve Kerr hear it after Tatum benching: Kerr made his first appearance in TD Garden since a surprise benching of the Celtics star in the Olympics. TD Garden fans created the Warriors coach with some hearty boos during pregame introductions and followed it up with a few “Steve Kerr sucks” chants over the course of the game. Kerr did not voice any regrets about the Tatum benching while speaking reporters before the game and joked about his reception before the win. It was a rough reception for Kerr but nothing close to the worst heard in front of a Garden crowd.
Warriors defense slows down Celtics early: Despite missing a pair of top scorers in Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics offense had not run into much trouble this season. That changed against a revamped Warriors roster that has morphed into one of the best defenses in the NBA this year. Golden State played physical and attacked Jayson Tatum with double teams for much of the night, leaving the Celtics struggling to find a rhythm for most of the first half after a 14-3 start. Boston managed to score just 26 points in the the final 19 minutes of the first half, posting a season-low 40 first half points on 35.1 percent shooting from the field.
Jayson Tatum wakes up Celtics offense in third quarter: The Celtics topped their first half output with 41 points in the frame and it all started with Jayson Tatum. After getting smothered by the Warriors traps for much of the first half, Tatum erupted for 17 third quarter points going 5-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3. Boston also got red-hot as a team from 3-point range in the period knocking down 10 3s to help erase most of a Warriors’ 14-point lead. The improved look from deep came courtesy of seven offensive rebounds that led to 13 second chance points in the period.
The Warriors look like legitimate contenders: The Warriors came into this game with a 6-1 record and a terrific net rating albeit against a soft schedule. No team had given the Celtics much of a challenge this season beyond the Pacers but the Warriors have found the right formula amid their offseason retooling. Buddy Hield is the perfect replacement for Klay Thompson and the roster is loaded with athletes and physical defenders that poses challenges to the Celtics for much of the night. They may need to address a lack of size in the interior (i.e. poor defensive rebounding) but they look like a good bet to be a top-4 seed in the West.
